Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Melissa & Doug Sand Toys Review & GIVEAWAY!!

I am beyond excited to introduce my very first giveaway to my readers! And who could ask for a better sponsor than Melissa & Doug?? I have always loved the quality of Melissa & Doug toys. They are made in the USA and are extremely durable and very cute!
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing 4 of their Sand Toy sets which included the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set, the Seaside Sidekicks Sand-Molding Set, the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set, and the Clicker Crab Pail and Shovel!
As soon as we got to the beach and put our stuff down, Allie was ready to play!

The first thing she played with was the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set. This set is so fun!  My husband and I both played with this along with Allie.  You can see one of the finished cupcakes at the bottom of the picture.  The set comes with 4 cupcake "liners" that you fill with sand, then 4 "toppers" that you also fill with sand, then place on top of the cupcake to make the rounded shape.  Each topper has a different design-a star, a turtle, a fish and a crab.  There is also a "spring-form" cupcake liner.  That one is our favorite.  You can make your cupcake then remove the liner to have a free-standing sand cupcake. :)






The next set we tried out was the Seaside Sidekicks Sand-Molding Set. Sand Molds are a classic beach toy.  This set comes with 5 shapes-a fish, a crab, a turtle, a starfish and a seahorse.  Their sizes are graduated which makes them stackable (very handy!).  We had fun with these too.  The pieces are very durable and well-made. 




Next we played with the Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set.  This set comes with measuring cups, a whisk, a mixing spoon, a sifting lid and the bucket.  The whisk was absolutely Allie's favorite toy.  She loved mixing up sand and water in the bucket with her whisk!  A great feature about this set is that all the pieces fit inside the bucket and the lid snaps on for easy storage!



The final set we played with was the Clicker Crab Pail and Shovel.  Another beach toy staple, the pail and shovel is probably the most common toy you'll see at the beach.  This set, however, is unlike all the others in that it is extremely durable and very cute!  Even my husband remarked (as he was going to fetch more water for our creations) that this bucket is well-made.  It doesn't "bow" and the handle doesn't strain when it's filled with sand and water.  Most other buckets would have a hard time carrying that weight.  I can't tell you how many buckets we've been through because the handle breaks off after a couple uses!  I really love this high-quality pail and shovel.

Now, the exciting part! Melissa & Doug have generously offered this entire set of 4 Sand Toys to 1 of my readers!
The winner will receive the following:




1 Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Set ($14.99 value)





1 Seaside Sidekicks Sand-Molding Set ($9.99 value)









1 Seaside Sidekicks Sand Baking Set ($14.99 value)









1 Clicker Crab Pail and Shovel ($9.99 value)



Here's how you can win!

MANDATORY:
-Follow me publicly on Google Friend Connect. (Found in the right column)
-Comment on this post and let me know which Sand Toy set you like best!


Optional entries:
-"Like" Deal Source Mom on Facebook. (+1)
-"Like" Melissa & Doug on Facebook. (+1)
-Follow Deal Source Mom on Twitter. (+1)
-Follow Melissa & Doug on Twitter. (+1)
-Share this giveaway on your Facebook Wall (make sure to tag Deal Source Mom and Melissa & Doug). (+1)
-Tweet about this giveaway one time.  You can copy and paste the following message:
Sand Toy by ends 7/24! Enter here:
(+1)

Please make a separate comment on this post for each of these you do! If you do not do the "mandatory" items, your entry will not count.
This giveaway will end on 7/24 at 10pm EST.

Melissa & Doug sent me these items to try so I could review them. My opinions are my own.



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    Posted by Kim at 9:20 PM 249 comments
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    Tuesday, June 21, 2011

    Product Review: "Gracie Jo's Candles" Soy Tart for Warmers

    I love it when my house smells great so, naturally, I love candles. So I was excited to receive a sample from Gracie Jo's Candles online store. Gracie Jo's has a very large variety of fragrant items including candles, tarts for warmers, sprays and air fresheners. She also has gift baskets, bath and body products and candle parties.
    The sample I received is a Fluted Soy Tart for Warmers (pictured). The scent is April Fresh Downy.
    Let me just say that the fragrance is strong. I could smell it while the tart was inside the plastic baggie. The scent is listed on the website as "Exceptionally soft, fresh, and static-free. This fragrance will make you think you just washed your sheets every day of the week! A manufactured dupe of the original fragrance."
    In my opinion, it has a very strong floral scent. I'm not a fan of floral scents in particular, so this would not be my first choice, but I will say that the fragrance did fill the house. So, if it were something more up my alley, like a fruity scent, then I would be thrilled.
    Gracie Jo's website also has a monthly giveaway for members. All you do to become a member is fill out a short form and sign up for her newsletter. The giveaway for July features over 1 pound of scented tarts including:
    -20 Soy Chunks
    -20 Soy Drops
    -20 Prim Stars
    -20 Baby Shoe Tarts
    -1 -5 oz. Break Away Tart Bar
    The winner gets to choose 5 different scents for each variety of tart.
    This giveaway ends July 10th.
    Enter giveaway here
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    Posted by Kim at 9:37 PM 0 comments
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    Friday, June 10, 2011

    Product Review: Piggy Paint nail polish

    "Natural as mud." That's the claim made by Piggy Paint nail polish.

    A nail polish originally developed for kids by mommy, Melanie Hurley, it contains no formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, biphenyl A, ethyl acetate or acetone like other "kid" polishes do!

    The idea for this natural, water-based nail polish was born after Melanie was polishing her girls' nails over a foam plate one day. Some of the solvent-based polish dripped onto the plate and started eating through it! (click here to see a picture of the foam plate)

    Imagine all those chemicals going into your kid's system every time they put their fingers in their mouth (which we parents know is ALL the time!) This was my main reason for researching a "safe" kid polish and that is how I discovered Piggy Paint.

    Imagine my surprise and excitement when last week I found out I WON a Piggy Paint gift set from a giveaway that I entered on Baby Loves Disco's facebook!

    Well today, I received that gift set in the mail (pictured) and of course I had to try it out right away! As soon as I got it out of the box, my daughter, Allie, started reaching for it saying "please, please" as if she knew it was for her!

    I have never painted her nails before so I wasn't sure what to expect (she'll be 2 at the end of June). So, I sat her in her high chair and told her to lay her hand flat. She did so well. She held her hand flat the entire time I painted her little fingernails. I told her to leave her hand flat while it dried which did not take long at all, 60 seconds maybe.

    Here is the right hand freshly painted:
    Beautiful!

    The color that I applied is called Girls Rule! It's a dark pink with silver shimmer. I'd use it on myself! All the names in the Piggy Paint collection are darling. The other two that were in my gift set are Angel Kisses (pink) and Glass Slipper (clear with glitter). The name of the gift set itself is Lollipops and Gumdrops. So cute!

    Piggy Paint has 2 other nail polish lines. Refined is their adult collection with more sophisticated colors. Project Earth is a line directed towards tweens with neon colors.

    The other great thing (that my husband loved most) is that Piggy Paint has NO ODOR! You can definitely breathe easy knowing you're using a safe, non-toxic, non-flammable nail polish on your kids and yourself! I HIGHLY recommend trying Piggy Paint! I am one very satisfied customer!
    Make that TWO satisfied customers!







    Piggy Paint website

    Right now through August 12th, Piggy Paint is celebrating Fan Appreciation Fridays on facebook. Just "like" their page and you are automatically entered into a weekly drawing for a bottle of Piggy Paint, color of your choice!
    Piggy Paint on facebook
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    Posted by Kim at 9:00 PM 0 comments
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    Tuesday, June 7, 2011

    Product Review: Picture Keeper

    How many photos do you currently have on your hard drive that are not backed up? If you're like me, you have thousands! At a moment's notice your computer could crash and leave those thousands of priceless memories lost.
    If you've put off backing up your photos because of the hassle of trying to figure out HOW (like me), this product is for you! My mom gave me the Picture Keeper as a gift and it is simply amazing! On the package it says "Simply Plug & Save!" and they truly mean it. There is NO software to download. You literally just plug it in your USB port and it automatically saves all the pictures on your computer to the flash drive!
    Within minutes, all 3000+ of my pictures were SAFE! That is a good feeling!
    They have different capacities you can choose from. Picture Keeper 4 (or PK-4) will hold up to 4,000 pictures, PK-8 will hold up to 8,000 and PK-16 will hold up to 16,000 pictures!
    If you want to know more details about the Picture Keeper, please go to their website, http://www.picturekeeper.com/.
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    Posted by Kim at 7:28 PM 0 comments
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    Product Review: Wallies wall decals

    If you want a change in your house, but are apprehensive about doing something permanent in the fear that you won't like it.. Wallies are what you need! I came across this website a few years ago and was instantly in love with the idea. I bought the "Woodland Growth Chart" for my daughter's room. (pictured)
    It is super easy to put on the wall and the pieces are removable and leave no sticky residue! AND you can't beat their prices--only $21.99 for the Woodland Growth Chart!
    They have SO many options on their website. From cutouts to borders, to murals and more. They have a large selection of designs too so anybody can find something that suits their taste. Being a mom, I love the decals they have for kids. Here are some of my favorites:
    How cute is this for a little boys room!


    This is a great one for dino fans!


    This one is decorative and educational!


    If you want to check out what else Wallies has to offer, go to their website at http://www.wallies.com/!
    Also, Wallies is currently doing a weekly giveaway via their facebook page! If you would like to enter to win a Wallies cutout of your choice, just email wwgiveaway@wallies.com! You only have to enter once and a winner will be chosen each Monday!
    Wallies on facebook
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    Posted by Kim at 7:04 PM 1 comments
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